Thomas Daschle (born December 9, 1947), known as Tom Daschle, was a U.S. Senator from South Dakota and the Senate Majority Leader. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He was narrowly defeated on November 2, 2004, by the Republican candidate, John Thune, in his bid for re-election. He is currently a visiting professor at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute at Georgetown University, and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress.